It is often desirable to be able to provide data about medical devices and/or patients using them, particularly for implanted medical devices. By way of illustration, treatment of hydrocephalus can involve implanting medical devices in a body, and a caregiver may need access data about the implanted device, the patient in which the device is implanted, or data generated by the device. Hydrocephalus is a neurological condition that is caused by the abnormal accumulation of CSF within the ventricles, or cavities, of the brain. CSF is a clear, colorless fluid that is primarily produced by the choroid plexus and surrounds the brain and spinal cord. CSF constantly circulates through the ventricular system of the brain and is ultimately absorbed into the bloodstream. CSF aids in the protection of the brain and spinal cord. Because CSF keeps the brain and spinal cord buoyant, it acts as a protective cushion or “shock absorber” to prevent injuries to the central nervous system.
Hydrocephalus, which affects children and adults, arises when the normal drainage of CSF in the brain is blocked in some way. Such blockage can be caused by a number of factors, including, for example, genetic predisposition, intra-ventricular or intra-cranial hemorrhage, infections such as meningitis, head trauma, or the like. Blockage of the flow of CSF consequently creates an imbalance between the amount of CSF produced by the choroid plexus and the rate at which CSF is absorbed into the bloodstream, thereby increasing pressure on the brain, which causes the ventricles to enlarge.
Hydrocephalus is most often treated by surgically inserting a shunt system that diverts the flow of CSF from the ventricle to another area of the body where the CSF can be absorbed as part of the circulatory system. Shunt systems come in a variety of models, and typically share similar functional components. These components include a ventricular catheter which is introduced through a burr hole in the skull and implanted in the patient's ventricle, a drainage catheter that carries the CSF to its ultimate drainage site, and optionally a flow-control mechanism, e.g., shunt valve, that regulates the one-way flow of CSF from the ventricle to the drainage site to maintain normal pressure within the ventricles.
As noted above, one problem encountered with the use of shunt systems is the difficulty in accessing data related to a shunt system implanted in a patient. One current technique for accessing data involves recording data related to a shunt system in a patient's written medical file. While this technique is advantageous in that it centrally collects patient data, the written medical file is not always accessible, for example, if the patient has an emergency and is taken to a hospital without access to the written medical file. Furthermore, tracking historical data using this technique can be cumbersome.
Accordingly, there remains a need for storing and accessing data related to implanted medical devices, and particularly shunt systems.